Help Bob Skowronski

Dec 3- Bob diagnosed

Jan 4-now- back n forth from alden to Roswell every day now

Feb 11- start Radiation/chemo daily for 7 weeks

April 1- treatment ends and then whatever happens next

Point is….Bobs health is number one. He tries so hard in this life, yet still holds his head up after getting kicked down over and over. but it’s VERY hard and VERY expensive to be traveling back and forth for treatment when they have no income, let alone pay any bills and take care of all their kids. They’re really behind and way in over their heads now, and would greatly appreciate any help that’s offered. He is beyond humiliated, asked me not to do this, but there’s no choice anymore. . Thank you

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Fast forward ONE year to 2023….

Bob is diagnosed with throat cancer again, and now heart failure from the Radiation.

So, a few days before our wedding Anniversary, just like last year …

Feb. 6- Bobs big CT scan

Feb. 10- Bobs results and laryngoscope at Head and neck. Got bad news. Dr said it looked like the cancer is on his vocal cords now. Need to get surgery again.

Feb. 13- Bob follow up with Radiation doctor, then pretesting/pre-surgical clearance

Feb. 14- Kim n Bob wedding Anniversary

Feb. 15- Bobs surgery cancelled bc his heart

Feb. 16- Bob cardiologist, needs more testing

Feb. 24- Bob laryngoscope

Bob Stress Test

March 21- Bobs Nuclear stress test

March 24- Bob Echocardiogram

Bob laryngoscope

March 27- Bobs GVI Angiogram

March 28- Bob primary doctor

March 30- Bobs MUGA scan

So, as you see, it’s just never ending doctor appointments and bad news, and we can’t catch a break to just catch up. All the guy wants to do is get back to normal, get in shape, be healthy, and go back to work. This past year we have just fallen so far behind in everything, that includes house taxes, and it’s scary as all hell. The sense of defeat is agonizing, and I just don’t want him to give up. He has too much to worry about, and he’s not supposed to have any stress with his heart. Can everyone just please keep Bob in your prayers for some kinda peace and healing. Thanks, and will hopefully update with some kinda good news next time. I’ll leave you with a poem that really touched Bob…..

They said the scans look fine, your body will recover, you don’t need to be here anymore.

They said to go home.

They said, “we don’t know if it will come back, but it very well might. Until then there’s not much we can do.”

They said, “go on and live your life.” Take a breath, take a nap, maybe even take a vacation. Go back to your jobs, back to your hobbies, back to laundry, dishes, and paying the bills. Spend time with your family, meet a friend for lunch, catch a movie with your loved ones. Take a day to do absolutely nothing.

It sounded nice when they said to go home.

So we went home.

But the home we went back to wasn’t as familiar as we thought.

The paint was the same color and the furniture was in place, but it didn’t feel like the same home. Our thoughts, feelings, and interests had all changed. Our relationships, jobs, and bodies felt so much different.

They said to go home, so we tried to go home, but it didn’t feel like home.

We felt lost. It was as if we had been on a path, kidnapped somewhere in the middle, turned around 20 times, and set off in a new direction. We didn’t know which way was up or down, left or right. We were in a new place, stranded in the desert- abandoned, desolate and lonely.

They said to go home.

But home was out of reach. The home we knew didn’t exist anymore. We wandered around for awhile before trying to build a new home. But the new home crumbled and cracked, forcing us to repair, rebuild, or start completely over.

They said to go home.

But they didn’t understand. After seeing thousands of patients in this position, they still didn’t understand. It looked so simple from their perspective. Go home, go back to your life, pretend that cancer never came.

But we couldn’t go home.

Our souls were altered on the deepest level. Our hearts were shattered, our minds were chaos, and our bodies hurt. They couldn’t see it.

But then we saw others. “Do you know where you are going?” we asked.

“No, I feel rather lost,” they would say. “But you are welcome to join, and we can pave a new path together.”

In that moment, though we were all still lost, we felt a glimpse of home. Our hearts connected and friendships formed on the simplest notion of being aimless wanderers together.

“Your thoughts and feelings make sense given all that you’ve been through. Others may not understand, but I can see, because I’ve walked a similar path.”

“You belong here.”

Our hearts began to relax. We took a deep breath of fresh air.

They said to come home.